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Soccer Untangled
After the World Cup
A mother and father in folding camp chairs on the sideline of a public grass field, seen from behind, watching a game of about ten kids in white and blue kits, a referee in yellow and a row of parked cars along the far fence

Understand youth soccer before you pay for it.

We’re parents, and we had to figure this out on our own. Here you can look up any club near you, see what level it plays at, what a season costs, and when tryouts are. Plain answers, so you can make a good call for your kid.

Build your roadmapFirst season? Start here
What other parents are searching for
10,803clubs you can look up
89leagues, sorted by level
6levels, from rec to pro
Search clubs near you
01The 10-second answer

Which clubs are near you, and at what level?

Type in your kid’s birthday and your ZIP code. You’ll see which age group they play in, which levels have clubs within a 30-minute drive, and the closest club at each level. No sign-up, no email.

Born
Plays
02The levels

Rec, travel, ECNL, MLS NEXT. What the levels mean.

Youth soccer has six levels, from town rec up to pro academies. The higher the level, the more serious the soccer, and the more it costs in money and driving. Pick a level to see who plays there, what a year costs, and how many nights a week it takes.

Share of all US youth players
Travel / Select

Where most kids land. You try out, you drive a bit, the fees climb. It’s a real commitment but a sane one, and most kids belong right here.

Cost a year
$1,500-3,000
Time
4-6 hrs/wk
Travel
10-30 mi

Good fit if: Most kids. More games and real coaching.

Town travel

The upper levels are a real step up, in the soccer and in what they ask of a family. That doesn’t make them the right target for every kid. The right level is the one your kid is happy at, and still wants to go to when the season gets long.

Ours plays at level 5, like most kids.

See all six levels
03Real pathways · 2026 World Cup

Almost none of them were on an academy team at eight.

We looked up every player on the US World Cup roster and traced where they played, year by year, starting in town rec. Most moved up late. A couple were playing other sports at ten. Keep that in mind the next time someone says your nine-year-old is behind.

See where they all started
04The club finder

Every club near you, and the level it really plays at.

Any club can call itself elite on its website. The leagues its teams play in tell you the real level, so that’s how we sort. Put in your ZIP and you get every club within your drive time, its level, and the leagues that back it up.

12clubs within 20 mi of Montclair, NJ · 07043Sample
Leaflet Tiles © Esri
#LvlClubMi
Elite2
Cedar Stars Bergen
National Elite · MLS NEXT · ECNL
4.2
Englewood
PDA
Pre-Professional · ECNL · GA
6.1
Zarephath
Competitive2
Real Jersey FC
Competitive Regional · NPL
5.6
Wayne
STA
Competitive Regional · NPL
8.1
Somerset
Travel1
Montclair United
Travel / Select · Town travel
1.8
Montclair
+ 7 more in the finder
Find clubs near me →
05Three families

How three families decided.

Each of these families had to decide whether to move their kid up. Here’s what they weighed, what they chose, and how it turned out. There’s no right answer for every kid, but it helps to see how other parents worked through it.

Read more from other parents
A boy about eleven after a town game
File 01
Stayed put
U11 boy · town travel

He made the U11 town travel team, and a parent from a bigger club kept telling us he was being held back.

What they weighed
  1. The bigger club played the same league, one level up at most.
  2. It was a 45-minute drive each way, three nights a week.
  3. He was happy, scoring, and still asking to kick around in the yard after practice.
What they chose

Stayed at town travel and added a Saturday skills class he liked.

How it went

Two seasons later he’s still playing, still loves it, and we never booked a hotel.

A girl about thirteen training at a competitive club
File 02
Moved up
U13 girl · regional club

She had outgrown her town team and the games were lopsided almost every week.

What they weighed
  1. A regional club a real 30 minutes away had an opening at her position.
  2. The fees doubled, but there were no flights and no hotels.
  3. The coach there had developed players we’d heard of.
What they chose

Moved to the regional club after two tryouts, one no and one yes.

How it went

The first month was humbling. By spring she was a regular and playing her best soccer.

A boy about fourteen on the sideline with a parent
File 03
Said no
U14 boy · stayed regional

He got a real MLS NEXT offer from a strong academy after a good showcase.

What they weighed
  1. The level was genuinely a step up and the coaching was excellent.
  2. It was 70 minutes each way, four times a week, plus weekend travel.
  3. He’s a strong student and we couldn’t see how the schedule worked.
What they chose

Turned it down and took a regional spot 20 minutes from home.

How it went

He wonders about it sometimes. We don’t. He’s playing well, sleeping enough, and his grades held.

06Before you commit

Six questions to ask before you sign anything.

Every club sounds great on the tour. These six questions get you past that. You’ll learn what level the teams play at, what a year costs once you add the driving, and whether your kid will get playing time. The first two matter most.

A parent talking with a youth soccer coach on the sideline
What to ask a clubtap to check off
Read the guide to choosing a club
07Tryouts

Tryout dates are easy to miss.

There’s no central calendar. Each club posts its own dates on its own website, usually only a few weeks ahead. We keep track of those pages. Leave your email and we’ll send you the tryouts near you when they go up.

Closed for this cycle

Most clubs post next season's dates in the spring

Get next season's dates

We'll email you the tryouts near you when clubs post them. It's the only thing we send.

The ZIP is how we know which clubs to watch. Tryout dates are the only thing we send.

A parent signing their kid in at a youth soccer tryout check-in table
Each date shows the age group, the club's level, and how far it is from your house.
08The roadmap

Which club, which level, what it costs, what to do this month.

Answer a few questions about your kid: age, town, where they play now, how much they want this. You get back a written report. It shows where your kid fits on the ladder, ranks the clubs near you and explains why, prices out a year at each one, and tells you the next step to take.

01

Tell us about your kid

Age, town, current team, and how serious they are. It takes about two minutes.

02

We match it to the clubs near you

We compare your answers with the clubs, leagues, and tryout dates within your drive time.

03

You get it in writing

Where your kid stands, which clubs fit and why, what each one costs, and what to do first.

Build your roadmapabout five minutes · written for your kid
09Is it worth it?

Is moving up worth $3,000 and four nights a week?

Sometimes yes. Often no. The club won’t tell you which, so here’s how we decide. The good reasons to move up are on one side, and the reasons to stay put are on the other.

The gut check
Worth it
When the step up is worth the money

  1. Your kid asks for more, not you. They want the extra training and the better games.

  2. The coaching is clearly better, and you can say how.

  3. You can pay the fees without it hurting the rest of the year.

Stay put
When to stay put and save the money

  1. The drive would eat up two weeknights you don't have.

  2. The new team plays in the same league. You'd be paying for the name.

  3. Your kid is happy and getting better where they are. That’s hard to improve on.

See what each level costs
A car packed for a tournament weekend, with soccer bags and folding chairs
10Where the top of the ladder leads

College is realistic. Pro is a long shot for almost everyone.

About 5 to 8% of high school players go on to play college soccer, across all divisions. That’s worth planning for. Fewer than 0.1% ever sign a pro contract. Both pages lay out the steps and the calendar, including where most players get cut.

College · L2
5–8%

of high-school players go on to college soccer, across all divisions.

Thousands of roster spots open up every year, most at schools you’ve never seen on TV. What matters is knowing the recruiting calendar and which division fits your kid.

How the college path works
Pro · L1
<0.1%

of youth players ever sign a professional contract.

The academy track, Homegrown contracts, and going overseas. We explain how each one works and what the odds are at each step.

How the pro path works
11The guides

The things nobody explains when you sign up.

Whether to do rec or travel, how to tell a club’s real level, and what a season costs with the hotels included. Written by parents who had to learn it on their own.

Start here · 7 min

New to youth soccer? Read this one first.

The levels, the costs, tryouts, and how to judge a club. Everything for your first season, in one read.

Read the guide
More guides
See all the guides
12By age · U6 to U18

What matters at each age.

A lot of what worries parents at U9 doesn’t matter until U15. Find your kid’s age. You’ll see what to pay attention to now, what you can ignore, where most kids that age play, and one thing worth doing this season.

U6–U8
roughly 5 to 7

Nothing you do this year matters much.

What matters now
  • That they like going. A kid who wants to come back next week is the whole goal.
  • Small-sided games so everyone gets the ball a lot.
What you can ignore
  • Travel teams and anyone selling you a development plan.
  • Comparing your kid to the one who looks two years ahead. That gap opens and closes for years.
Where most kids this age land

Almost every kid this age is in town rec, and that’s exactly where they should be.

Do this next

Sign up for a rec season at the closest field. That’s the whole to-do list.

Take that step
U9–U10
roughly 8 to 9

The first "select" tryouts show up. They’re optional.

What matters now
  • A coach who teaches and keeps it fun, more than the team name.
  • More touches and small-sided games over win-at-all-costs results.
What you can ignore
  • Anyone saying a 9-year-old is behind. Early and late bloomers trade places for years.
  • "Exposure" and rankings. There’s nothing to be exposed to yet.
Where most kids this age land

Most kids are still in rec; some start town travel. Both are fine.

Do this next

If your kid wants more games, try out for a town travel team. No pressure to.

Take that step
U11–U12
roughly 10 to 11

Real travel begins for a lot of kids.

What matters now
  • Birth-year teams and tryouts become normal. A 30-minute radius is plenty.
  • A club whose teams really play in the league it advertises.
What you can ignore
  • The pull to chase the highest level this early. Most kids who end up there get there later.
  • Showcase and college talk. Years away.
Where most kids this age land

Most kids who play competitively settle around town travel here, and that’s right.

Do this next

Use the club finder to see which nearby clubs really play at the level they claim.

Take that step
U13–U14
roughly 12 to 13

This is where families have to choose.

What matters now
  • A clear-eyed read on your kid's level and how much they want it, more than how much you do.
  • The all-in cost and drive of any step up, before you commit a season.
What you can ignore
  • The idea that not moving up now closes doors. Kids move up at 15 and 16 all the time.
  • Other parents who sound sure. They’re guessing too.
Where most kids this age land

Some move to regional or national clubs. Most don’t need to, and stay happy where they are.

Do this next

Read the six levels with the cost and travel attached before any tryout.

Take that step
U15–U16
roughly 14 to 15

High school and club at once, and the first college interest.

What matters now
  • Juggling high school and club without burning your kid out.
  • If college is a real goal, the level that gets seen and a realistic target division.
What you can ignore
  • Paying for every ID camp that emails you. Most are revenue, not real interest.
  • Treating one bad tryout as a verdict. It’s one day.
Where most kids this age land

The committed players spread across the upper levels. Plenty keep playing high school and rec too.

Do this next

If recruiting is the goal, map the calendar year by year so nothing sneaks up.

Take that step
U17–U18
roughly 16 to 18

Visits and offers, if they’re coming. Keep playing either way.

What matters now
  • A real fit between your kid and a program, more than the most-prestigious offer.
  • Finishing the recruiting steps without burning out before college.
What you can ignore
  • The single highlight reel as a shortcut. Coaches want to see live play at a level that holds up.
  • Decisions made out of fear. About 5 to 8% of high-school players go on to college soccer.
Where most kids this age land

The committed players are spread across the top levels. Plenty of others play for the love of it.

Do this next

Walk the college and pro roads with the real numbers attached before committing a weekend.

Take that step

A quick note on ages. There are two systems running at once, which is why your kid can be a U12 at one club and a U11 at another. Birth-year grouping (the 2016 change) puts every kid born in the same calendar year together. A lot of leagues have since gone back to school-grade grouping, which splits that year at the September cutoff, so a kid born in October ends up a group below a classmate born in March. Neither one is a verdict on your kid. Ask any club which birth years and grades actually play in each group before a tryout, because they do not all answer the same way.

13Questions parents ask

Seven questions every soccer parent ends up asking.

Short answers here, longer ones one click away. They’re in the order most families run into them.

01

How do I tell if a club is actually any good?

Don’t go by their website. Any club can call itself elite. Look at which leagues their teams play in. That’s the one thing a club can’t fake, and it’s how the finder sorts every club.

Find clubs near you
02

What does a season really cost?

Anywhere from about $150 for town rec to $10,000 or more for a top academy once you add travel and hotels. Most travel families land between $1,000 and $2,500. We show the real range at each level.

See the cost breakdown
03

Is my kid behind?

Almost certainly not. Kids develop at very different speeds. The ones who look ahead at nine often get passed by late bloomers. There’s no clock running.

Read the beginner’s guide
04

Rec, travel, club, academy. What is the difference?

They’re levels on one ladder, from playing for fun close to home up to pro academies. Higher means better competition, but also more driving and a bigger bill. Most kids play at town travel, and that’s a good place to be.

See the six levels
05

When are tryouts, and how do we get ready?

Most clubs hold tryouts in late spring for the fall season, and post the dates on their own sites a few weeks ahead. We check every date against the club’s own page. On the day, bring water and both jersey colors, and get there early.

See tryout dates
06

What do ECNL, MLS NEXT, and NPL actually mean?

They’re leagues, and they sit at different levels. ECNL (Elite Clubs National League) and MLS NEXT are near the top. NPL (National Premier Leagues) is a strong regional step up. The glossary explains every term you’ll hear.

Open the glossary
07

What are the real odds of a college scholarship?

About 5 to 8% of high school players go on to play college soccer, across all divisions. Full scholarships are rare. It’s realistic for some kids, and worth planning for early.

See the college path
14Where to start

Where are you right now?

Pick the one that sounds like you, and start there.

Parents watching a youth soccer game from folding chairs on the sidelineRead the full sample first
About five minutes · written for your kid

Find out where your kid stands.

Answer a few questions. You get back your kid’s level, the clubs within your drive time ranked with reasons, what each one costs, and what to do first. Read the full sample before you buy anything.

Build your roadmapBrowse the guides